1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mobile communication. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for managing a list of equivalent public land mobile networks in a mobile terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
A mobile terminal may place a call to another mobile terminal or receive content data from a content server through a network. The network configured to support voice and data communication is referred to as a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN). A mobile terminal may receive a message such as a location update accept message from the PLMN covering the current location, wherein the location update accept message contains a list of Equivalent PLMNs (EPLMN list). PLMNs in the EPLMN list are regarded as equivalent to each other by the mobile terminal for PLMN selection or cell selection.
Whenever a particular message is received from the PLMN, the mobile terminal updates the stored EPLMN list. When received messages contain different EPLMN lists, the mobile terminal may fail to perform accurate PLMN selection or cell selection. Also, when networks in EPLMN relation are not described as being equivalent to each other, the mobile terminal may fail to perform accurate PLMN selection or cell selection. Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus and method for EPLMN list management that enable a mobile terminal to perform accurate PLMN selection or cell selection.